Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay was again the host of the Free Agent Signings (for 2009) and the agents and owners were as busy as Santa’s elves in the Tampa Bay Window Convention Center and Resort. The bids were collected, sorted, posted and a report written. TBL GM Thom Ayers then called Commish Tom Ayers and asked him to come over for a visit to review the findings for accuracy. It was a good thing to double check things. I missed one signing, and the Commish caught it. We reviewed things once again and all was finalized.
In 2007 in Minnesota twenty-three free agents were signed for a total of $116.13 with the highest bid being $16.63 for Mike Commodore. In 2008 twenty-three of the twenty-four teams submitted bids. Of that number seventeen teams were successful in signing twenty-seven free agents to the tune of $196.30. The highest successful bid was $29.30 submitted by the Vancouver Canucks who obtained the services of goalie Jason LaBarbera.
This year thirty-two players were signed by eighteen teams (a new record) for a total of $245.62, and again the record of money spent was broken. The record of signing by an individual player was also broken as the Florida Panthers signed defenseman Anton Babchuk for $33.50. The average transaction was $8.18, and there were 171 bids not counting the 10 that weren’t considered because the funds were exhausted.
For the first time in league history a tie-breaker had to determine which would be the successful signing team. The Rangers won a tie-breaker against the BlueJackets and the Canucks won a tie-breaker against the Penguins. Unfortunately there were five teams that did not sign a player. The Ottawa Senators chose not to submit a bid.
Well enough for the story, let’s get to the announcements. Please see attachment for a listing of the 32 players, who they signed with and for how much.
HB League Awards
2009-07-05
Greetings all,
The off-season is in full swing. Ratings are posted at SOM's site, Dave and I are talking trade, draft war rooms are being stocked with Molson and pretzels. I plan on having the Ratings/Rosters file out soon. I put about 10 hours into it yesterday and hope to put the finishing touches on it. It would help if anyone, who protected an uncarded player last season could remind me of who was protected. I know some, but a few teams are at under 35 players and I believe that they may have uncarded players to declare. Also, below is the list of award nominees. You can send E Mail to me with the list of categories and players for whom you wish to vote. The all-star teams referenced are first and second teams. The All-star teams for the all-star classic will be nominated soon.
Sabres Repeat Cup Championship
2009-05-01
After one period the score was knotted at zero to zero as both teams play sloppy with a bunch of lose pucks to opponents. And both teams managed only 6 shots on goal.
In the second period the home town fans worked it up for a fever pitch and were cheering as loud as they could
After a scoreless first period, Derek Roy scored his 17th goal in the playoffs to give the home team the lead at 1-0 at 16:30 after he got a rebound and then another and pounded it home on an Automatic G to play by tapping home the rebound off his own shots.
After two periods in the sloppy defensive game it was Sabres 1 Senators 0. In period three the Slovak Marion Hossa got an immediate breakaway and shot a G17+. On the ensuing facoffs Mike Fisher +1 beat Derek Roy +2 and the puck went to the previously mention Slovak. Hossa took control of the puck and chose to penetrate 1-10 he did so successfully and boom this time G 15 with no + he scored! and tied up the game at 1-1.
The Sabres who pride themselves on out shooting the opponents by a large margin were in trouble on this game as the Senators were keeping up with them but then Tomas Kaberle started taking away the bisquit and he had five takeaways. And it helped when Samuelsson failed to penetrated he passed to Drury and he passed a beauty to Pominville who shuck a 7 inside and that is a GR and the ensuing 7 resulted in a GOAL. at 10:35 in the 3rd period. The crowd cheered loudly and stayed cheering as the Sabres went on to win the game 2-1.
Martin Biron was named star of the game as he stopped 4 of 4 goalie ratings and 30 shots on goal.
Pominville who was all over the ice tonight got second star.
Andej Mezoros tried valiantly to be the man and he was on the Senators as he made 5 hits.
The Buffalo Sabres have won two Herbie Cups in a row! After losing to the same Senators 3 years ago in the finals.
"It couldn't be more sweet." said Jason Pominville
"I felt I had the number one offense in front of me how could I lose. I'm just glad I did well when it counted." said the Sabres goalie Martin Biron.
Last years MVP and Conn Smythe winner, Thomas Vanek who was basically silent in the playoffs this season had this to say. "The coach told me to match up and just pass the puck to Roy or Dumont if I had the chance. Normally I like to shoot but mathematically he told me to pass. I don't understand math but whatever."
Thomas Kaberle who led the leauge in take aways and had 5 in this game said, "It's all about defense and I'm the man."
His own coach contradicted him when I talked to Housely.
"I think our relentless offence is the difference from line 1 thru 4." said coach Phil Housely. "I feel like James Brown now. I feel good!"
"Congrats to Jennifer the General Manager and the entire team of the Ottawa Senators for a great season. It was a truly wonderful season of hockey", said GM JJ Legree.
The fans went wild in Buffalo and tossed an octopus on the ice that was quickly scraped off and then they tossed a buffalo on the ice and then the group PETA got involved and it was chaos.
Tampa Bay Players' Skate
2008-08-22
Tampa Bay – Bolts’ GM Thom Ayers with Coach Mel Rose at his side introduced the new addition to the Lightning squad after Zdeno Chara skated in some drills with his new teammates. Arriving early this morning, he wasted no time putting on his skates and was eager to step onto the ice with his new team. Chara will probably be paired with either Cory Sarich or Steve Staios. However, the defensive pair is matched it will be a bruising combo.
There have been rumors all week that a trade was in the works, but just about everybody thought it would involve Brad Richards. Now it appears that Chara and Richards will be paired on the points on the power-play.
Rumors and miscommunication……There is no truth to the rumor that was started by a Philadelphia reporter that a former Beach Boy has been signed by Tampa Bay . The NHL Bolts have signed a number of questionable players, and while signing a former Beach Boy might be entertaining, it certainly wouldn’t help the cause. It’s Steve Stamkos who was signed to a three year contract, not John Stamos. And, no…..Steve Stamkos is not a distant cousin of Steve Staios.
Things to think about…….If Zdeno Chara likes to cook-out a lot, do you think he might use Chara-coal???? If Patrick Kane has a wife or girl-friend, what are the chances her name is Candy????
This is Thom Ayers reporting from Tampa Bay.
2008 Free Agent Signings Announced
2008-08-15
Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay was the host of the 2008 Free Agent Signings and the agents and owners were as busy as Santa’s elves. The bids were collected, sorted, posted and a report written. TBL GM Thom Ayers then called Commish Tom Ayers and asked him to come over for a visit to review the findings for accuracy. He did so hobbling on crutches. (I hoped there wouldn’t be any mistakes, but I just couldn’t put my “finger” on it. Thanks, Alex.)
Last year in Minnesota twenty-three free agents were signed for a total of $116.13 with the highest bid being $16.63 for Mike Commodore. This year saw all the records broken.
First of all, twenty-three of the twenty-four teams submitted bids. Of that number seventeen teams were successful in signing twenty-seven free agents to the tune of $196.30. The highest successful bid was $29.30 submitted by the Vancouver Canucks who obtained the services of goalie Jason LaBarbera.
The teams and the players that they signed as follows: NOTE: THIS IS THE REVISED LIST AS JEFF FINGER (a rookie) TRIED TO SNEAK IN AS A FREE AGENT….sorry about that!!!!!) Finger was removed..ouch! Unfortunately, Lilja was bumped from STL by PHI. STL than bumped Hale from MIN. MIN had no more selections so it ended there.
Atlanta Thrashers-Bryon Ritchie $6.50, Craig MacDonald $2.00
Buffalo Sabres-Andrew Raycroft $16.25
Calgary Flames-Curtis Joseph $8.00
Chicago BlackHawks-Jaroslav Modry $16.55
Columbus BlueJackets-Joel Kiatowski-$0.50
Detroit RedWings-Branko Radivojevic $6.25
Florida Panthers-Steve Montador $20.25
Los Angeles Kings-J S Aubin $10.00
Minnesota Wild- Brad Isbister $1.27
Nashville Predators-Niko Kapanen $7.28, Dick Tarnstrom $2.11, Jeff Giuliano $0.79
New York Rangers-Rob Davison $0.50, Branislav Mezei $0.50
Ottawa Senators-Donald Brashear $0.50, Andreas Karlsson $0.50, Jason Strudwick $0.25
Pittsburgh Penguins-Jan Hlavac $18.00
Philadelphia Flyers-Andreas Lilja $15.00, Brian Pothier $7.00
St.Louis Blues- David Hale $8.00, Ryan Johnson $10.00
Tampa Bay Lightning-Michael Leighton $3.00, Kirk Maltby $3.00, Ryan Bayda $3.00
Vancouver Canucks- Jason LaBarbera $29.30
This is Thom Ayers reporting from Tampa Bay.
News Stories
Habs Complete Deal with Thrashers
2009-09-03
The Canadiens have dealt Saku Koivu, Ruslan Salei, Eric Brewer, Robert Nilsson, Vojtech Polak, and Montreal's 4th, 5th and 6th round picks in the 2010 HB League draft to the Atlanta Thrashers for Tobias Enstrom, Darren Haydar, Minnesota's 1st round pick in 2009 draft, and Atlanta's 1st and 2nd round picks in the 2010 draft.
Montreal previously made a deal with the Penguins two months ago that included eleven players and a draft pick along with an undisclosed about of cash.
The Habs hope that their deals will pan out and turn into a winning season result.
Panthers Send Jokinen to Devils
2009-07-05
Florida has traded long time local favorite Olli Jokinen to the New Jersey Devils. In return, the Panthers are excited to get Brian Rafalski and an undisclosed amount of cash as well as the Devils 3rd round pick in the upcoming 2009 Rookie Draft.
Jokinen has had some very good seasons with the Panthers but the team's need for defense outweighs the need to keep the veteran center. Rafalski will fit nicely on the blue line with Sheldon Souray, Jay Bouwmeester, and Steve Montador.
With the emergence of rookie Michael Frolik, who is expected to be the top choice of the Florida scouts, the Panthers felt they could get a good defenseman for Jokinen and it worked out well for both teams.
"I just hope we don't have to face the Devils again next winter in the first round of the playoffs," general manager Tom Fischer was quoted as saying. "I just want to try to defend our division title and win the South Division for a third year in a row," Fischer continued. "That is our most immediate goal and I think this trade helps."
Panthers Make Jokinen Available For Trade
2009-07-03
Florida puts Olli Jokinen on the trading block stating the franchise has determined to go in a new direction. With some young players in the organization willing to step up and play center, the Panthers feel that they could easily trade Jokinen for a defenseman to help out the team.
"Trading Jokinen for a draft pick or two is not out of the question either," said general manager Thomas Fischer.
Time will tell if the Panthers get what they are looking for but with a meager $16 million available for free agency, the Panthers are hoping they can land a good D-man in a deal for Olli.
Features
Realignment Proposal
2009-09-11
The only rule proposal for the 2009-10 season is the realignment of teams to a geographical model:
Eastern Conference
North Division Atlantic Division
Boston Atlanta
Buffalo Florida
Montreal New Jersey
Ottawa New York
Pittsburgh Philadelphia
Toronto Tampa Bay
Western Conference
Central Division Pacific Division
Chicago Anaheim
Columbus Calgary
Detroit Los Angeles
Minnesota Phoenix
Nashville San Jose
St. Louis Vancouver
The proposal is to go from last year's alaignment to the model above. I need a yes or no vote from each team on this issue. The constitution does not specifically set out how the divisions are divided and therefore be an amendment to the constitution, subject to a 75% acceptance to pass. The schedule format would remain the same and a schedule has been created for both the current or amended scenarios. All votes should be in by Saturday Sept 19 at 11:59PM EST. When voting please E Mail myself: Rockets300th@ Comcast.net Thom: Thomahawk44@ Comcast.net and Paul Nitti: canuckssom@yahoo. com as we tabulate separately to verify the results.
Ducks Release Players
2009-07-03
Anaheim Ducks release 4 players, three defensemen and one forward. Gone are Bryan Berard, who had a goal and an assist in 5 games while filling in on d for the Ducks last year. Also shipped out was Marek Malik, who had 3 points in 15 games, the highlight being a between the legs shot fo a goal in block 7. Hanging them up is Keith Carney, who participated in a combined 38 games (12 on loan to Vancouver in block 10). His 3 point night in block two was his best night by far for the scrappy vet. The last cut was Thunder Bay born Trevor Letowski. Letowski was a waiver pick up who ended up playing in all but 7 games at center and left wing. He also killed penalties and finished with 5 goals and 3 helpers.
Pittsburgh Blockbusting Again
2009-07-02
PITTSBURGH (AP) - About a year and a half ago this reporter broke the news of Sidney Crosby being sent away from Pittsburgh, well today, the Penguins have let the other shoe drop.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens completed a deal that involved 11 players, a draft pick and cash. The Penguins sent Vincent Lecavlier(29G), Martin St. Louis(30G), the rights to Peter Schaefer and Vojtech Polak to Montreal for Eric Cole(18G), Mikhail Grabovski(20G), Chris Higgins(12G), Tuomo Ruutu(26G), Justin Williams(4G), John Madden(7G), Martin Gerber, Atlanta's 1st Round Pick in the upcoming draft and $8.50.
Penguins GM Tom Barrasso wishes the dynamic duo well, but deems the team deeper in light of the acquisitions. Coach Tom Fitzgerald, himself acquired by Barrasso, in the Ty Conklin deal, echoed the sentiment and added that, "Although we lost two elite players, we are no longer a one (or two) trick pony and the added depth should allow Gino (Malkin) much more room to operate and propell him into the spotlight in our league." Ownership is cautiously optimistic, but acknowledges that more work is left to be done before the puck drops in September.
Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay was again the host of the Free Agent Signings (for 2009) and the agents and owners were as busy as Santa’s elves in the Tampa Bay Window Convention Center and Resort. The bids were collected, sorted, posted and a report written. TBL GM Thom Ayers then called Commish Tom Ayers and asked him to come over for a visit to review the findings for accuracy. It was a good thing to double check things. I missed one signing, and the Commish caught it. We reviewed things once again and all was finalized.
In 2007 in Minnesota twenty-three free agents were signed for a total of $116.13 with the highest bid being $16.63 for Mike Commodore. In 2008 twenty-three of the twenty-four teams submitted bids. Of that number seventeen teams were successful in signing twenty-seven free agents to the tune of $196.30. The highest successful bid was $29.30 submitted by the Vancouver Canucks who obtained the services of goalie Jason LaBarbera.
This year thirty-two players were signed by eighteen teams (a new record) for a total of $245.62, and again the record of money spent was broken. The record of signing by an individual player was also broken as the Florida Panthers signed defenseman Anton Babchuk for $33.50. The average transaction was $8.18, and there were 171 bids not counting the 10 that weren’t considered because the funds were exhausted.
For the first time in league history a tie-breaker had to determine which would be the successful signing team. The Rangers won a tie-breaker against the BlueJackets and the Canucks won a tie-breaker against the Penguins. Unfortunately there were five teams that did not sign a player. The Ottawa Senators chose not to submit a bid.
Well enough for the story, let’s get to the announcements. Please see attachment for a listing of the 32 players, who they signed with and for how much. 
Greetings all,
After one period the score was knotted at zero to zero as both teams play sloppy with a bunch of lose pucks to opponents. And both teams managed only 6 shots on goal.
In the second period the home town fans worked it up for a fever pitch and were cheering as loud as they could
After a scoreless first period, Derek Roy scored his 17th goal in the playoffs to give the home team the lead at 1-0 at 16:30 after he got a rebound and then another and pounded it home on an Automatic G to play by tapping home the rebound off his own shots.
After two periods in the sloppy defensive game it was Sabres 1 Senators 0. In period three the Slovak Marion Hossa got an immediate breakaway and shot a G17+. On the ensuing facoffs Mike Fisher +1 beat Derek Roy +2 and the puck went to the previously mention Slovak. Hossa took control of the puck and chose to penetrate 1-10 he did so successfully and boom this time G 15 with no + he scored! and tied up the game at 1-1.
The Sabres who pride themselves on out shooting the opponents by a large margin were in trouble on this game as the Senators were keeping up with them but then Tomas Kaberle started taking away the bisquit and he had five takeaways. And it helped when Samuelsson failed to penetrated he passed to Drury and he passed a beauty to Pominville who shuck a 7 inside and that is a GR and the ensuing 7 resulted in a GOAL. at 10:35 in the 3rd period. The crowd cheered loudly and stayed cheering as the Sabres went on to win the game 2-1.
Martin Biron was named star of the game as he stopped 4 of 4 goalie ratings and 30 shots on goal.
Pominville who was all over the ice tonight got second star.
Andej Mezoros tried valiantly to be the man and he was on the Senators as he made 5 hits.
The Buffalo Sabres have won two Herbie Cups in a row! After losing to the same Senators 3 years ago in the finals.
"It couldn't be more sweet." said Jason Pominville
"I felt I had the number one offense in front of me how could I lose. I'm just glad I did well when it counted." said the Sabres goalie Martin Biron.
Last years MVP and Conn Smythe winner, Thomas Vanek who was basically silent in the playoffs this season had this to say. "The coach told me to match up and just pass the puck to Roy or Dumont if I had the chance. Normally I like to shoot but mathematically he told me to pass. I don't understand math but whatever."
Thomas Kaberle who led the leauge in take aways and had 5 in this game said, "It's all about defense and I'm the man."
His own coach contradicted him when I talked to Housely.
"I think our relentless offence is the difference from line 1 thru 4." said coach Phil Housely. "I feel like James Brown now. I feel good!"
"Congrats to Jennifer the General Manager and the entire team of the Ottawa Senators for a great season. It was a truly wonderful season of hockey", said GM JJ Legree.
The fans went wild in Buffalo and tossed an octopus on the ice that was quickly scraped off and then they tossed a buffalo on the ice and then the group PETA got involved and it was chaos.
Tampa Bay – Bolts’ GM Thom Ayers with Coach Mel Rose at his side introduced the new addition to the Lightning squad after Zdeno Chara skated in some drills with his new teammates. Arriving early this morning, he wasted no time putting on his skates and was eager to step onto the ice with his new team. Chara will probably be paired with either Cory Sarich or Steve Staios. However, the defensive pair is matched it will be a bruising combo.
There have been rumors all week that a trade was in the works, but just about everybody thought it would involve Brad Richards. Now it appears that Chara and Richards will be paired on the points on the power-play.
Rumors and miscommunication……There is no truth to the rumor that was started by a Philadelphia reporter that a former Beach Boy has been signed by Tampa Bay . The NHL Bolts have signed a number of questionable players, and while signing a former Beach Boy might be entertaining, it certainly wouldn’t help the cause. It’s Steve Stamkos who was signed to a three year contract, not John Stamos. And, no…..Steve Stamkos is not a distant cousin of Steve Staios.
Things to think about…….If Zdeno Chara likes to cook-out a lot, do you think he might use Chara-coal???? If Patrick Kane has a wife or girl-friend, what are the chances her name is Candy????
This is Thom Ayers reporting from Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay was the host of the 2008 Free Agent Signings and the agents and owners were as busy as Santa’s elves. The bids were collected, sorted, posted and a report written. TBL GM Thom Ayers then called Commish Tom Ayers and asked him to come over for a visit to review the findings for accuracy. He did so hobbling on crutches. (I hoped there wouldn’t be any mistakes, but I just couldn’t put my “finger” on it. Thanks, Alex.)
Last year in Minnesota twenty-three free agents were signed for a total of $116.13 with the highest bid being $16.63 for Mike Commodore. This year saw all the records broken.
First of all, twenty-three of the twenty-four teams submitted bids. Of that number seventeen teams were successful in signing twenty-seven free agents to the tune of $196.30. The highest successful bid was $29.30 submitted by the Vancouver Canucks who obtained the services of goalie Jason LaBarbera.
The teams and the players that they signed as follows: NOTE: THIS IS THE REVISED LIST AS JEFF FINGER (a rookie) TRIED TO SNEAK IN AS A FREE AGENT….sorry about that!!!!!) Finger was removed..ouch! Unfortunately, Lilja was bumped from STL by PHI. STL than bumped Hale from MIN. MIN had no more selections so it ended there.
Atlanta Thrashers-Bryon Ritchie $6.50, Craig MacDonald $2.00
Buffalo Sabres-Andrew Raycroft $16.25
Calgary Flames-Curtis Joseph $8.00
Chicago BlackHawks-Jaroslav Modry $16.55
Columbus BlueJackets-Joel Kiatowski-$0.50
Detroit RedWings-Branko Radivojevic $6.25
Florida Panthers-Steve Montador $20.25
Los Angeles Kings-J S Aubin $10.00
Minnesota Wild- Brad Isbister $1.27
Nashville Predators-Niko Kapanen $7.28, Dick Tarnstrom $2.11, Jeff Giuliano $0.79
New York Rangers-Rob Davison $0.50, Branislav Mezei $0.50
Ottawa Senators-Donald Brashear $0.50, Andreas Karlsson $0.50, Jason Strudwick $0.25
Pittsburgh Penguins-Jan Hlavac $18.00
Philadelphia Flyers-Andreas Lilja $15.00, Brian Pothier $7.00
St.Louis Blues- David Hale $8.00, Ryan Johnson $10.00
Tampa Bay Lightning-Michael Leighton $3.00, Kirk Maltby $3.00, Ryan Bayda $3.00
Vancouver Canucks- Jason LaBarbera $29.30
This is Thom Ayers reporting from Tampa Bay.
The Canadiens have dealt Saku Koivu, Ruslan Salei, Eric Brewer, Robert Nilsson, Vojtech Polak, and Montreal's 4th, 5th and 6th round picks in the 2010 HB League draft to the Atlanta Thrashers for Tobias Enstrom, Darren Haydar, Minnesota's 1st round pick in 2009 draft, and Atlanta's 1st and 2nd round picks in the 2010 draft.
Montreal previously made a deal with the Penguins two months ago that included eleven players and a draft pick along with an undisclosed about of cash.
The Habs hope that their deals will pan out and turn into a winning season result.
Florida puts Olli Jokinen on the trading block stating the franchise has determined to go in a new direction. With some young players in the organization willing to step up and play center, the Panthers feel that they could easily trade Jokinen for a defenseman to help out the team.
"Trading Jokinen for a draft pick or two is not out of the question either," said general manager Thomas Fischer.
Time will tell if the Panthers get what they are looking for but with a meager $16 million available for free agency, the Panthers are hoping they can land a good D-man in a deal for Olli.
Anaheim Ducks release 4 players, three defensemen and one forward. Gone are Bryan Berard, who had a goal and an assist in 5 games while filling in on d for the Ducks last year. Also shipped out was Marek Malik, who had 3 points in 15 games, the highlight being a between the legs shot fo a goal in block 7. Hanging them up is Keith Carney, who participated in a combined 38 games (12 on loan to Vancouver in block 10). His 3 point night in block two was his best night by far for the scrappy vet. The last cut was Thunder Bay born Trevor Letowski. Letowski was a waiver pick up who ended up playing in all but 7 games at center and left wing. He also killed penalties and finished with 5 goals and 3 helpers.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - About a year and a half ago this reporter broke the news of Sidney Crosby being sent away from Pittsburgh, well today, the Penguins have let the other shoe drop.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens completed a deal that involved 11 players, a draft pick and cash. The Penguins sent Vincent Lecavlier(29G), Martin St. Louis(30G), the rights to Peter Schaefer and Vojtech Polak to Montreal for Eric Cole(18G), Mikhail Grabovski(20G), Chris Higgins(12G), Tuomo Ruutu(26G), Justin Williams(4G), John Madden(7G), Martin Gerber, Atlanta's 1st Round Pick in the upcoming draft and $8.50.
Penguins GM Tom Barrasso wishes the dynamic duo well, but deems the team deeper in light of the acquisitions. Coach Tom Fitzgerald, himself acquired by Barrasso, in the Ty Conklin deal, echoed the sentiment and added that, "Although we lost two elite players, we are no longer a one (or two) trick pony and the added depth should allow Gino (Malkin) much more room to operate and propell him into the spotlight in our league." Ownership is cautiously optimistic, but acknowledges that more work is left to be done before the puck drops in September.